Picture this: You're strolling through Sawgrass Mills mall on a Tuesday night, dodging tourists' oversized suitcases somewhere between the Rainforest Cafe and Lululemon, when you spot Kanye West.
On December 10, as Miami Art Week drew to a close, rapper Playboi Carti reportedly shared a screenshot via Instagram of a text straight from the Hitler-praising rapper himself (who now goes by "Ye"). The text appeared to announce a December 12 listening event for Ye and Ty Dolla $ign's upcoming album at — you read that right — Sawgrass Mills shopping mall in Sunrise.
The news was met with some disbelief and sardonic responses from users on X, formerly known as Twitter.KANYE WEST x TY DOLLA $IGN
— NFR Podcast (@nfr_podcast) December 10, 2023
¥$ 💿
VULTURES RAVE
MIAMI — SAWGRASS MILLS 🏟️
🚨DECEMBER 12TH @ 12 AM🚨 pic.twitter.com/60mHE33DPC
"Can someone ask Kanye what part of the mall?" one asked.
"Kanye doin' live shows at Wannado City," another wrote, referencing the now-defunct mock-city amusement park for kids inside the mall.
Despite the online speculation, it doesn't appear West will be previewing the album at the LEGO store, or the T.J. Maxx — or frankly anywhere inside the massive shopping complex."No, there's no event, no performance. It's false."
tweet this
A spokesperson for Simon Property Group, owner of Sawgrass Mills, tells New Times that West will not be having an event at the mall on Tuesday.
"No, there's no event, no performance," she said. "It's false."
The statement shot down reports swirling around social media and national news sites about the supposed rave at one of the largest malls in the nation. Sawgrass Mills is one of more than 90 malls owned by Simon Property, a real estate investment group with billions of dollars in yearly revenue.
"Rumors have been circulating that a Kanye West listening party will take place at Sawgrass Mills tomorrow. This is simply not true," Sawgrass Mills management confirmed to New Times.
In light of further speculation that Ye was referring to a nearby large-scale venue for the event, New Times reached out to Amerant Bank Arena (less than a mile from Sawgrass Mills) about the prospect of a Ye show. The stadium has not responded to the inquiry.
Ye went on a hiatus from public performances after his 2022 anti-Semitic spiral, in which the award-winning rapper spent months cozying up to extremist podcaster Nick Fuentes while spouting bigoted conspiracy theories. In an interview with conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, Ye proclaimed, "I like Hitler."
"The Holocaust is not what happened. Let's look at the facts of that. Hitler has a lot of redeeming qualities," Ye said.
Ye returned to the stage in August 2023 when he made an appearance in Rome with Travis Scott on the tour for Scott's chart-topping album Utopia.
He released his single "Vultures" with Ty Dolla $ign in late November, which included the lyrics, "Runnin' hooligan, and we with the foolishness. How I'm anti-Semitic? I just fucked a Jewish bitch."
The two rappers recently unveiled the album's 17-track list on social media.
Ye surprised fans during Miami's Art Week on December 9 when he showed up at Dukunoo Jamaican Kitchen, a Caribbean restaurant in Wynwood, to preview snippets of his new album, which will be his first release since embroiling himself in controversy last year.
Early Sunday morning, he reportedly popped up at E11even wearing socks and no shoes before performing alongside DJ Khaled at LIV Nightclub later in the day.
